Bucks beat Heat for 13th win in a row but Giannis Antetokounmpo leaves with right knee injury

The Milwaukee Bucks came out of the all-star break the way they went into it – winning.

The Bucks won their 13th straight game with a 128-99 victory over the Miami Heat at Fiserv Forum Friday night. The streak is the longest in the NBA this season and tied for fifth-longest in franchise history.

Milwaukee improved to 42-17 overall and Miami dropped to 32-28 in dropping their third straight.

Giannis Antetokounmpo overcame a sprained right wrist to start the game for the Bucks, but he exited after just six minutes with a right knee injury.

Bobby Portis sparks Bucks to big win

Antetokounmpo provided a lift early in the game by being able to play, but Bobby Portis’ return from a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) suffered on Jan. 23 was the offensive – and emotional – lift the Bucks needed when Antetokounmpo exited with a knee injury.

Portis, who missed the last 11 games heading into the all-star break, came out on fire for Milwaukee. He made his first five shots and finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench. It was his 30^th double-double of the season – which tied him for No. 3 in the league despite all of his time missed.

ANALYSIS: Top NBA storylines headed into final games of regular season

SPORTS NEWSLETTER: Sign up now for daily updates sent to your inbox

Khris Middleton (12 points in 17 minutes) joined Portis in double figures off the bench, while all-star Jrue Holiday paced the Bucks starters with 24 points and seven assists. Brook Lopez had 17 points and Grayson Allen added 16.

The Bucks showed no signs of rust from the time off, as they didn’t have a turnover until 30 seconds remained in the first quarter and they went 7 for 13 from behind the three-point line in taking a 42-32 first quarter lead. They continued to pour it on from there and eventually led by as many as 25 points, as the Heat couldn’t keep pace with the Bucks’ hot shooting.

Milwaukee shot 55.1% in scoring 73 first half points and Miami had no real chance to catch up. When the starters were pulled with the Bucks up 121-89 with 4 minutes, 29 seconds left in the game they were 18 for 42 (42.9%) from behind the three-point line and shooting 49% overall.

The Heat meanwhile made just 38.1% of its shots and 7 of 34 (20.6%) from distance while the starters were in the game.

Marquette alumnus Jimmy Butler scored 23 points in 21 minutes while Whitnall High School alumnus Tyler Herro had 14. All-star Bam Adebayo had 18 points.

Giannis Antetokounmpo starts, but exits early with injury

On Sunday evening, Antetokounmpo stood outside his team’s all-star locker room at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City and spoke about how important it was for him to represent himself and the fans in the annual exhibition – and that by doing so while injured made it his second-favorite all-star jersey to possess.

But through that, there was real concern about how injured his right wrist truly was. On Monday in New York, it was confirmed it was a sprain – painful – but not season-ending.

On Friday in Milwaukee, the MVP candidate went back to work, albeit briefly.

The day started with him being listed as doubtful to play, but by late afternoon he as upgraded to questionable. After his pregame warmup, he was in the starting lineup.

When asked before the game how surprised he was that Antetokounmpo may be cleared to play, Bucks head coach Mike Budenholzer said simply, "Very. I mean, the guy's unbelievable."

Unfortunately the 28-year-old Antetokounmpo had to exit the game late in the first quarter, calling for a timeout to get off the floor and he walked directly to the Bucks locker room when Budenholzer obliged. Antetokounmpo played six minutes to that point, scoring four points on 2 of 4 shooting.

Early in the second quarter the Bucks ruled him out for the rest of the game with a right knee issue, saying he knocked knees with an opponent. Antetokounmpo also knocked knees with a Boston player on Feb. 14 and appeared to be in some pain, but he remained in the game.

Antetokounmpo sprained his right wrist on Feb. 16 in Chicago, but participated briefly in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday. He was reevaluated in New York Monday, and it was determined he avoided major injury. He practiced to some degree on Wednesday and Thursday.

Jae Crowder makes his Bucks debut

The Bucks acquired the Marquette University alumnus on Feb. 9, but he had been held out of action before the all-star break in order to help get in basketball condition.

"So the juices are flowing right now, but I'm just excited for just the journey of it and it starts today for me and this group, try to gel and be the best team we can be heading into the postseason," Crowder said at shootaround Friday morning.

Q&A: Crowder says joining Bucks will give him opportunity to win at high level

Crowder said learning three positions and getting the offensive terminology down is taking some effort, but he feels confident he'll be ready to fit in quickly defensively.

"I tried to play the first game, not gonna lie," he said with a laugh. "But they were like you don't even know any plays, relax little bit. They're trying to protect the player, protect me, and you tend to forget that a little bit, you tend to want to go in head first."

He checked in at the 4:30 mark of the first quarter and made his first basket, a three-pointer, at the 1:09 mark. Crowder had not appeared in a game since May 15 when his Phoenix Suns were eliminated by Dallas in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, and he played 16 minutes.

Crowder finished with nine points and three rebounds.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Giannis Antetokounmpo exits early with knee injury as Bucks beat Heat